Human Rights Treaties, Invalid Reservations, and State Consent

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Legal Remedy ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
State Consent ◽  
International Human ◽  
Multilateral Treaties

A continuing debate in international human rights law concerns the result of invalid reservations to multilateral treaties. The cardinal rule holds that a reservation cannot be incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty. Yet a normative puzzle remains: what legal remedy should follow the determination of the invalidity of a reservation? Leading commentators have discussed a limited set of options. Three choices can be identified:

The Idea of International Human Rights Law

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Moral Concept ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
Fragmentation Of International Law

International Human Rights Law has emerged as an academic subject in its own right, separate from, but still related to, International Law. This book explains the distinctive nature of the new discipline by examining the influence of the moral concept of human rights on general international law. Rather than make use of moral philosophy or political theory, the work explains the term ‘human rights’ by examining its usage in international law practice, on the understanding that words are given meaning through their use. Relying on complexity theory to make sense of the legal practice in the United Nations, the core human rights treaties, and customary international law, The Idea of International Human Rights Law shows how a moral concept of human rights emerged, and then influenced the international law doctrine and practice on human rights, a fact that explains the fragmentation of international law and the special nature of International Human Rights Law.

The Fallacy of Effective Human Rights Protection under Relevant Treaty Law when Armed Groups Commit Violations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human

Chapter 5 adds to the contemporary discourse on human rights obligations of non-state armed groups by showing that in many situations, there is a clear legal need for these obligations. This chapter first engages in the debate on whether and to what extent certain human rights treaties address armed groups directly. Second, it shows that under the law of state responsibility, states are generally not responsible for human rights violations committed by non-state entities. Third, it recalls that under international human rights law, states have an obligation to protect human rights against violations committed by armed groups. However, it argues that because this cannot be a strict obligation but is one that depends on states’ capacities and the particular circumstances, often this framework cannot adequately protect individuals against human rights violations by armed groups. The result is a legal and practical need for human rights obligations of non-state armed groups.

Disability in International Human Rights Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gauthier de Beco
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Social Model ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Legal Subject ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
International Instruments

This book examines what international human rights law has gained from the new elements in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons (CRPD). It explores how the CRPD is intricately bound up with other international instruments by studying the relationship between the Convention rights and those protected by other human rights treaties as well as the overall objectives of the UN. Using a social model lens on disability, the book shows how the Convention sheds new light on the very notion of human rights. In order to so, the book provides a theoretical framework which explicitly integrates disability into international human rights law. It explains how the CRPD challenges the legal subject by drawing attention to distinct forms of embodiment, before introducing the idea of the ‘dis-abled subject’ stemming from a recognition that all individuals encounter disability-related issues in the course of their lives. The book also examines how to apply this theoretical framework to a number of rights and highlights the consequences for the implementation of human rights treaties as a whole. It not only builds upon available literature straddling different fields, which include disability studies and legal and political theory, but also draws upon the recommendations of treaty bodies and reports of UN agencies as well as disabled people’s organisations. The book provides an agenda-setting analysis for all human rights experts by inviting them to appreciate the benefits of placing disabled people at the heart of international human rights law.

scholarly journals International Human Rights Law and the Response to the covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-269
Author(s):  
Sarah Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Do So

Abstract States have duties under Article 12(2)(c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to prevent, control and treat covid-19. Implementation of these three obligations is analysed, taking account of countervailing human rights considerations. Regarding prevention, lockdowns designed to stop the spread of the virus are examined. Control measures are then discussed, namely transparency measures, quarantine, testing and tracing. The human rights compatibility of treatment measures, namely the provision of adequate medical and hospital care (or the failure to do so), are then examined. Finally, derogations from human rights treaties in times of pubic emergency are discussed.

Theory and Evidence Regarding the Effectiveness of Human Rights Treaties

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Hill, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
International Human

The adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 marked the beginning of the modern international human rights regime. Since then the number of international treaties that protect human rights, as well as the number of internationally recognized rights, has greatly increased. The increasing number and scope of international treaties attests to the fact that advocates for human rights view treaties, which are legally binding in principle, as useful tools for promoting respect for the various rights identified in international law. Only recently have scholars begun to collect and systematically examine evidence concerning the effectiveness of human rights treaties. This new body of research is motivated by a question that has obvious normative import and policy relevance: do we have good evidence that the widespread adoption of international human rights law has had any meaningful impact on the level of respect that states exhibit for the rights articulated in international law? To date, this literature suggests three sources of variation in the effectiveness of human rights treaties: (1) variation in the domestic political and legal institutions that facilitate enforcement and compliance, (2) variation in the nature of the rights protected by different treaties and the nature of violations, and (3) variation in the strength of governments’ commitments to the UN treaty regime. All three sources of variation point to opportunities to advance our understanding of the conditions under which international human rights law can achieve its goals.

The Missing Elephant in the Room—the Jurisdiction of International Human Rights Tribunals over International Humanitarian Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-408
Author(s):  
Ka Lok Yip
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
Practical Implications

Abstract Treaty-based tribunals that render binding decisions on states under international human rights law (IHRL) have long engaged with international humanitarian law (IHL) in their judgements but little attention has been given to the basis of their jurisdiction, if any, to do so. By revisiting fundamental questions on the jurisdictional basis of international tribunals, this article presents a methodological challenge to the uncritical engagement with IHL by certain IHRL tribunals. After surveying the jurisdiction of different IHRL tribunals explicitly founded on treaties, the article seeks not only to justify, but also delimit, the inherent jurisdiction of IHRL tribunals to consider IHL for interpretive purpose, in contrast to directly applying it to the dispute. Finally, the article analyses the substantive and practical implications of stricter observance of the jurisdictional limits of IHRL tribunals on the interpretation of IHRL, the determination of ‘absent’ states’ legal interest under IHL and the future of IHL dispute settlement.

Domestic Human Rights Adjudication in the Shadow of International Law: The Status of Human Rights Conventions in Israel

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barak Medina
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Government

The quarter-century anniversary of Israel's ratification of the major United Nations (UN) human rights treaties is an opportunity to revisit the formal and informal interaction between domestic and international Bills of Rights in Israel. This study reveals that the human rights conventions lack almost entirely a formal domestic legal status. The study identifies a minor shift in the scope of the Israeli Supreme Court's reference to international law, as the Court now cites international human rights law to justify decisions that a state action is unlawful, and not only to support findings that an action is valid. This shift may be the result of other reasons, for instance, a ‘radiation’ of the Court's relatively extensive use of international humanitarian law in reviewing state actions taken in the Occupied Territories. However, it may also reflect a perception of enhanced legitimacy of referring to international human rights law as a point of reference in human rights adjudication following ratification of the treaties.At the same time, the Court continues to avoid acknowledging incompatibility between domestic law and international law. It refers to the latter only to support its interpretation of Israeli constitutional law, as it did before the ratification. This article critically evaluates this practice. While international human rights law should not be binding at the domestic level, because of its lack of sufficient democratic legitimacy in Israel, it should serve as an essential benchmark. The Court may legitimise a human rights infringement that is unjustified according to international law, but such incompatibility requires an explicit justification. The Court, together with the legislature and the government, are required to engage critically with the non-binding norms set by the ratified UN human rights treaties.

scholarly journals Why Do National Court Judges Refer to Human Rights Treaties? A Comparative International Law Analysis of CEDAW

2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 534-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher McCrudden
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
National Court ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
International Human ◽  
Domestic Level

Comparative international law promises to bring fresh attention to the similarities and differences in how international law is understood and approached at the domestic level. Comparative international human rights law applies this focus to similarities and differences in the ways that international human rights law is, for example, interpreted at the domestic level by courts.

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